John C Lu: The Blog

Food

2009-07-01T06:58:00.000-07:00

Food pictures. Just a small sample of what I've been eating.

Thai Curry.

Shrimp pancakes.

Beef.

I sucked the bone marrow out of the bones in the soup...with a straw. Yum =)

Sashimi.

Famous spicy hot pot.

Sticky rice.

"Italian" "Pasta" Rice.

Special bread with mochi and taro inside.

Life

2009-06-16T04:51:00.000-07:00

Weather has been quite rainy the past few days. Reminds me of Seattle, but when it rains here, it rains very hard. The past few days have been fairly low key. A lot of eating, shopping and walking to different areas within Taipei.

I haven't been taking many pictures, but rather been experiencing the everyday life of a young person in Taiwan. Bowling, dancing, singing, eating, you name it. People here enjoy doing everything.

View of Taipei from the freeway. Can you guess which building is Taipei 101??

Taipei 101, for now the tallest building in the world (officially). Also has the fastest elevator in the world. At 55 ft/second, your ears will definitely pop on the way up.

Dinner in the mountains at a Tea House. Outside of the city, life is very quiet and relaxing.

Making dumplings at a shopping center cafeteria. Cafeteria food here is AMAZING. In fact, everywhere you go the food is delicious.

One of many plates from yet another buffet. They had testicles at this place, but I wasn't brave enough to try it.

Blending in

2009-06-08T06:59:00.000-07:00

Things feel distinctly different the second time around. I'm no longer surprised by the noise, smells or lifestyle. I've been able to blend in and hang with many locals around my age. They definitely know how to enjoy life here.

Some interesting things:

1) Shopping here is equivalent to our last minute Christmas rush. Except it happens here everyday, even on weekdays.

2) Not many wear sunglass when it's sunny. Although umbrellas are a popular protection against the sun.

3) Scooters outnumber cars and drive in between traffic. Imagine water flowing between sand. Add pedestrians and city traffic becomes a nightmare.

4) Advertisements take up entire buildings.

5) Getting from point A to B is an adventure. You use the metro/bus system, walk by and through countless stores and cross the path of thousands of people. Compared to America's individual, car based culture, Taipei feels so much more alive.

Day 1 -2 Safe Arrival

2009-06-06T05:34:00.000-07:00

Hi friends! I'm glad to say I made it to Taiwan safely and have adjusted to the time zone quickly. My flight was about 11 hours, arriving 40 minutes earlier than expected. During the flight, I had two meals, my own personal TV screen, on demand TV and movies. Pretty impressive for flying economy class.

I arrived at 5:00am (Taiwan time) and went straight to Michelle's (my host) college. I got a grand tour and also attended a class that was learning English. It was sunny and hot, without the high humidity I experienced before.

The second day involved an all you can eat buffet with some of Michelle's classmates. A particular guest left a huge impression on me. I seriously have not seen someone eat so much. And the interesting part is she's a thin girl. And I mean she ate ALOT. As always, it was fun to meet people and communicate through a mix of broken English and Mandarin. It's amazing how much we have in common despite having different histories.

So far, it seems like my trip will be very personal involving locals and friends. I look forward to sharing these moments with you!

Airport: wasn't expecting things to be that different here...

Furniture store

Damaged scooter outside of Fu Jen campus

All you can eat...including beer/wine/champagne

Eric (my brother) and Michelle heading towards a market in Wulai

New website!!!

2008-09-20T23:21:00.000-07:00

Please check out my pictures on the Taiwan based wretch.cc website:

http://www.wretch.cc/mypage/johnlu83

I will be moving to this new site, so all new items will posted there. I hope you enjoy it!!

Taiwan and Hong Kong: some pictures

2008-08-20T23:07:00.000-07:00

I have too many pictures to play with right now, so here are a few from the past few weeks. I'll let the pictures do the talking. Let me know if you have any questions! I'll be happy to entertain them.

TAIWAN

Kenting: southern Taiwan. We went on an off roading expedition.

Kenting at night.

Hualien: we were on a paddle boat with a penguin as our captain.

Temple: Chijing Island, Kaohsiung. Saw this on our bike ride around the island.

Kaohsiung.

View from the Love River, Kaohsiung.

Love River, Kaohsiung.

Chijing Island, Kaohsiung.

"85" - tallest building in Kaohsiung.

Night show at Hualien.

Beach side at Hualien.

The mountain side of Hualien.

HONG KONG

Water side of Kowloon. Olympic decorations were up.

Hong Kong Island.

Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong Island

View of Hong Kong Island from Kowloon, HK.

The Peak, Hong Kong Island.

Taiwan: Day 6 - 9

2008-08-13T06:43:00.001-07:00

It's been a little while since I posted, so let me try and remember what I have been up to. We departed on a trip to visit the southern part of Taiwan. I forgot to bring my camera memory card adapter, so I won't be able to post any new pictures from our tour of Taiwan. I had my first experience on a high speed train, something America desperately needs. The train traveled up to 300 km/h (186 mph), which isn't the fastest but was very impressive. It wasn't loud and it effortlessly brought us to our destination: Kaohsiung. However, our final destination was Kenting at the southern most part of Taiwan.

Kenting is a very small town and is more of a tourist area. We went on a crazy off roading trip in a beefed up Jeep Wrangler. We stood most of the time (the top was chopped off) and held on for dear life as we navigated the steepest paths I have ever seen. It was easily 45 degree angles on turns. During the tour we saw a lot of the beautiful scenery that is Taiwan. During the evening, the main road transforms into a city alive with small vendors and lots of people. It's beautiful to see empty streets become filled with so much activity as the sun sets.

The following morning we went to the Kenting aquarium before we went back to Kaohsiung, where we stayed in a hotel for 2 nights located next to the Love River. We walked a lot in order to find the night market, only to find out we walked in a big circle. It was worth it though. The foods, smells and massive amounts of people and excitement should never be passed up, even if we are tired.

The last day we spent in Kaohsiung was incredible. We rode bicycles on Chijing Island for 3 hours (Eric is super red now, like a rojo lobster), saw many beautiful views of Kaohsiung, visited Kaohsiung Sky Tower (85 floors, looks like what Emperor Palpatine's building would look like) and had dinner at the Dream Mall. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by Sanfongjhong street, an old and traditional night market that specializes in dried food.

If you read all that I just wrote, I'm quite impressed. I apologize again for the lack of pictures. I will work on a publishing them when I have time, which unfortunately will be a while. Enjoy!

Day 5: Beach and food

2008-08-09T08:05:00.001-07:00

I'll start off with a night picture for the month long midsummer ghost festival. This festival is very famous in Keelung. It's a time for everyone to treat the ghosts, so people bring food, pray and celebrate the ghosts. This particularly building shown below was set up for the occasion.

During the day, 6 of us went on a trip to Yilan, a popular beach where locals hang out and surf. Here's the surprising thing. Most of you know I don't know how to swim. Guess what I did??? I surfed!! I hung out where the water was about waist high, but it was just fine for surfing. The waves were small, the water was warm and very salty. I managed to catch a few good waves. Standing and balancing isn't too difficult (to go straight that is). The hardest part was finding the right wave and gaining enough speed to meet it. It was fun and I never thought I would have ever done that (and not drown).

We had dinner at a traditional Taiwanese restaurant. Lots of fish and different foods I've never had before, including shark. The seafood is very fresh here and the price is low.

Sashimi seems to be everywhere for a fair price. It's difficult to pass on such a delicious feast.

I also had taro, red bean and peanut ice cream, which is a special dessert in Taiwan. Also on the list was Taiwanese sausage (super good, especially with a bite of garlic) and of course Taiwan beer and oolong tea. There are lots of 'small eats' here for under 1 USD, but taste better than anything in the US. I'm not sure how I'm gonna enjoy American food and prices when I return...

Day 2-4: Danshui, Ximending

2008-08-08T08:40:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna start by describing some differences that I found between the US and Taiwan. The cultures are drastically different. I learned a lot by simply watching the traffic. The roads are shared by cars and scooters. There are about 100 scooters per block and much fewer cars. Scooters go wherever they want. In fact, they trickle through traffic and fill any gaps to be found. I imagine it as sand finding its way into every crack. People honk a lot, but not because their upset but because they warn others that they are there as to not cause accidents. There isn't any road rage, people go about their business.

I've seen dog's riding on the scooters with their owner, kids standing on scooters without helmets and people carrying a trunk full of stuff between their legs. Every man, women and child rides a scooter. It's just the way it works because their are simply too many people for everyone to have cars.

Life doesn't stop here when the sun goes away. In fact, it picks up in many places and is more lively than the day. Night markets, street vendors and stores all thriving at night. We walk down streets where scooters drive right by us, using the same road. They miss us by inches. Because this place is sooo dense, I sensed that taking pride in ownership is not as prominent here as it is in America. In fact, America feels rather cold, where people want space when their walking or driving and will get extremely upset if you get close. I'm more hesitant to talk to people in America because everyone is much more defensive. Here in Taiwan, everything is shared. From the roads to the stores, the lack of space forces people to be close to each other. Everyone goes about their business but are happy to help each other. They all know how hectic life is here and understand when people need help. People don't appear to hold grudges here.

So what have I been doing lately? I went to Danshui, a beautiful area on the water, for Valentine's Day. I went to Ximending which is where my mother grew up. I also had dinner with my Auntie and Grandma in Taipei. I visited Taipei 101 (2nd tallest building in the world, formerly 1st). 101 is a huge, towering building with no building remotely its size in the vicinity. I saw The Dark Knight at the IMAX (again). When the lights went off, it felt like I was in the US. Lights turned on, definitely not in the US. I also went on a big ferris wheel (I was actually kinda scared). I visited more street markets and ate stinky tofu (yum!). I had a traditional Taiwanese dinner with family members, which included seafood and pig intestines (also yum). Thats it in a nutshell. Later!

Taiwan: Keelung Day 1

2008-08-05T07:14:00.000-07:00

I'm officially 15 hours ahead of everyone now, which means I'm posting from the future. I'll let you guys know whats up, especially if the world is coming to an end. The plane ride to Taipei went by quickly considering I was able to sleep for most of the time. So far, I don't feel the jet lag, since I had a red eye flight and was able to sleep. My brother and I arrived in the morning the 'next' day, so our rhythm isn't too much out of wack.

When first arriving at the airport, I didn't quite feel like I was in a completely different country and culture. I did not have a window seat and the airport itself was very user friendly. On the way to our home in Keelung, I began to notice just how different this place really is. The surrounding environment is lush and green, almost like something out of Jurassic Park. The weather was incredibly muggy, even though it wasn't hot I felt like I was in a sauna due to the high humidity. The buildings, I noticed, are significantly different than what I'm used to. There are huge complexes raised everywhere. Things just appear to have sprung out of the ground when needed, with no pattern or unity among buildings. It was a beautiful sight.

Just standing on a street corner in the morning made me realize just how different this place is. There are much more scooters than cars on the road and the amount of users on the road surpasses that of New York. There is an incredible amount of people living in a small place. While US cities feel somewhat cold and highly individualistic, Taiwan felt more like a living, breathing creature. There were many intricate parts, from the scooters sharing the road with the buses (and no one follows any traffic laws here) to people crossing the street to greet vendors. People have specialized jobs here. Someone excels at procuring a certain type of fish while another is an expert at crafting goods.

I spent some time in downtown Keelung, there are hundreds of scooters on every block. I got a glimpse of the harbor, the haunted house and also the fruit and seafood vendors who shared a space with parked scooters on the sidewalk. Later that day, we went up to the gold museum, where we were able to get a spectacular view of the harbor, huge temples and the lush mountains.

In the same area was Jiou Fen, a famous vendor area located on narrow streets in the mountain. The first thing I noticed was the smell. Rarely have I gone to a place and was able to catch the scent of so many different flavors of food. It was an attack on my senses, one that I would welcome any day. Some smells were great, others were scary, but it added to the incredible experience of being there.

The day went on and we were tired, but we made it to the Keelung night market to pick up some food. We didn't spend too much time here, but I'd love to come back another night. It was just getting dark, which made for an amazing view. When US cities get dark, everyone goes home and gets ready for work the next day. But here, the evening breeds a whole new life. Everything is incredibly social here.

At times I felt like I was living in Blade Runner or the anime Tekkon Kinkreet. This was just the first day and it was already more than I imagined. And its incredible to think my family originated from this country. What a beautiful thing it is to see what the world looks like when I've been living in America for so long.

UPDATE: for some reason the links to larger versions of the posted pics above are not showing up. So here are the direct links:

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q5/Pdl2thmdl/prettyview.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q5/Pdl2thmdl/keelung-downtown-nighttime.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q5/Pdl2thmdl/jioufen.jpg

SDCC: Wed through Sat

2008-07-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

The highly anticipated San Diego comic con kept me busy for the past few days. Having been there before, I was quite prepared for the massive amounts of visitors, celebrities and long lines. Wednesday preview night was very successful. Considering there were no panels, I was able to secure all the items I wanted to purchase.

Thursday was a mix of panels and exploring the exhibition hall. I attended the 20th Century Fox panel, which began with the reimagining of The Day the Earth Stood Still. Guests included Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly. They showed some footage, but I wasn't really excited for this movie to come out. The second movie discussed was Max Payne. Mark Walberg and Mila Kunis entertained the audience of 6500 people. Mark was very funny and an energetic speaker, which made the panel very enjoyable. Although the panel was scheduled to end at this point, a special guest speaker was announced: Hugh Jackman! He just got off the plane and was here to promote Wolverine, which he pumped up the crowd for and presented a special trailer. What an exciting movie! It even showed Gambit and Deadpool. This has potential to be, as Hugh put it, badass! Later in the evening I attended Dexter. The cast was there and the questions presented by the audience were very intelligent. I never seen the show, but it looks very good.

Friday I was able to meet two of my favorite artists: James Jean and Gary Baseman. Both went better than I can have imagined. James had a print for sale that was of one of my favorite images from the Prada line. This was my most favorite item I got this entire weekend. Gary was very friendly and took the time for each of his fans. He even doodled in my book. It was an absolute honor to meet both artists.

Saturday was a major panel day for me. The line up was Heroes (entire cast), Dean Koontz, Dollhouse (Joss Whedon, Eliza Dushku and Tahmoh Penikett) and Battlestar Galactica (much of the cast). We were fortunate enough to watch the entire premiere of Season 3 of Heroes: Villains. It was incredible!!! This is what makes SDCC so wonderful. The Dollhouse panel was extremely entertaining. It was both funny and informative. And of course this is possibly the last time we will see the actors and creators of BSG together in public. They spoke about the last season, but mostly they spoke of memorable moments. It was very bittersweet and it was obvious they were all deeply good friends. The emotions were high and at the end, they received a standing ovation and even a chant of "So say we all!"

There is still one day left, but it will be dedicated to the exhibition hall and saying goodbye. I wish this convention would never end. I grabbed quite a few items including three autographs from my favorite artists, Ugly Dolls and a yellow Domokun.

Day 24: SDCC preparation

2008-07-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

The past few days has been family time and relaxing. Tomorrow is the big day to San Diego, where I will reside for the next 5 days. San Diego Comic Con will consume my life and time for these days, so it will be unlikely I will be able to find time to post updates of the events there. I will post things when I have time though.

Day 21: Cars, Huntington Beach and The Dark Knight

2008-07-19T23:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday. This means Cars and Coffee again! I felt that last weeks turnout was a little better. But there were still a large amount of beautiful cars. I think going to these shows can make one spoiled. I posted some pictures of cars that made the turnout.

After the show, Mavis and I went to Huntington Beach aka Surf City. I can feel the surf culture the second we got close to the beach. They love it here. It was nice to see so many people outdoors enjoying the company of others. At Venice and Santa Monica, there were few surfers, maybe 10-15. Here at Huntington, there were at least 100. Not to mention, the US Open of surfing was going on as well. We saw some professional surfers, although I'm unfamiliar with their names, we could definitely tell they were darn good! The weather was overcast, but very pleasant.

Lunch was delicious spicy miso ramen from Santouka in the Mitsuwa Marketplace. The marketplace gave me an idea of what to expect from Japan. Great food and fun merchandise.

We quickly left for the Edwards Ontario IMAX theater for an afternoon showing of The Dark Knight. An hour and a half early and the line was already long. It was worth the wait. The movie was spectacular. It was everything I hoped it would be. The IMAX experience was quite unique. Many of the city shots and several action sequences were filmed in IMAX format, which meant it was hi-res and filled the whole screen. Amazing experience.

Day 17: Galleries, Tesla, Rodeo Drive

2008-07-15T22:24:00.001-07:00

My goal today was to visit several art galleries unique to LA. The ones I made it to are Thinkspace, Carmichael Gallery, Copra Nason, Project: Gallery and BLK/MKRT. All were open except Thinkspace and Copra Nason. The exhibits were welcoming and fresh and I was introduced to some new artists. For those of you who watch TV or like tattoos, LA Ink was located right next to Carmichael Gallery. I had no idea!

The following image is of the gallery BLK/MRKT. I believe this 'person' sitting on the rooftop was the result of Mark Jenkins. Look him up, he does some great stuff =D

I found myself near Beverly Hills, which made me recall that the artist James Jean recently collaborated with Prada. The Prada on Rodeo Drive was suppose to be designed according to his images.

I'm not quite sure how to describe Rodeo Drive other than ridiculous. Being on Sunset Blvd earlier and seeing the environment shift to Beverly Hills is astounding. Every shop at Rodeo Dr had 'secret service' type people at the entrances to 'greet' you. Not a single store wasn't designer and a simple credit card wallet at Prada was well over a hundred bucks. The famous designer Bijan had his yellow Rolls Royce parked out front of his store. This area is fun to visit, but I can't see myself ever living here or in this lifestyle.

My next stop was Tesla Motors, the makers of the Tesla Roadster. The Tesla Roadster is a $100,000 electric motor sports car. It has zero emissions, full carbon fiber body and runs off of rechargeable laptop batteries (a lot of them). The car has 248 hp and 210 lb-ft of torque at 0 rpm. 0-60 mph in 4 seconds. Other interesting facts: the battery weighs 900 lbs, it can travel 230 miles on one charge, is a one speed, has a 13k redline and the torque is present throughout the rev range (so the car pulls like a bat out of hell at all times).

I had a really good experience at the dealer. The company isn't trying to make money, but rather stimulate a movement to show the world that electric cars have a place in the future of automobiles. It might not be cheap or practical, but the technology is there to make an electric car faster than a Ferrari. I had the privilege of visiting the only dealer in the world (currently) and they even let me sit in one. I spent a good 30 minutes chatting and drooling over the car. These guys are great. Best car dealer experience I've ever had.

Day 14: Cars, Coffee and LA

2008-07-13T11:01:00.000-07:00

The first weekend in LA was action packed, starting by waking up at 6 am in order to make the Cars and Coffee weekly show in Irvine. Cars and Coffee is a car show where car fanatics bring their cars to show others between 7-9am every Saturday. The catch is this: exotic and classic cars only. They are mostly personally owned (some dealers bring some) and many have been customized. I parked in the spectator parking lot along with a Dodge Viper and Ferrari F430. What did I see in the car show? There are about 400 cars, here are just a few: Porsche Carrera GT, Ferrari F430 Scuderia, Nissan GT-R, Lamborghini Murcielago, Ford GT and others that cost more than your house.

The show was very relaxed, just a bunch of people looking at cars, taking pictures and chatting. Most of cars, despite being Porsche and Ferrari's, had expensive modifications done. The pictures shown were a small portion of what was there. I'd love to post pictures or answer questions concerning what I saw.

The second portion of the day took my cousin, Mavis, and I to downtown LA. Our goal was to hit up several specialty stores. We managed to find everything just fine. We were able to visit KidRobot, Giant Robot, Beverly Hills H&M and several stores along the way.

Perhaps the strangest and now funniest part of the day was when we ate crepes at a small Japanese store. The store front was plastered with signs saying strange things, such as don't come in unless you know exactly what you want. It followed up by calling us kids or idiots if we didn't. It was ambiguous whether his signs were meant to be funny or if he was serious, but it made me wonder how he got business. We were confronted with more signs as we stepped into the store, which was the size of a closet because a counter blocked off the rest of the place. We saw a person, but only his hand and torso, cuz his face and everything else was blocked off by signs. When Mavis handed him money, he instructed her to put the money on the counter (as one of the signs instructed) as opposed to his hand. When I payed, he gave me 75 cents back, in the form of lots of dimes, nickels and pennies. The good news is the crepes were good.

Since we were downtown, we decided to visit UCLA as a part of my campus visits. UCLA surprised me. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but the campus was very beautiful. The buildings were mostly red bricks and the grass was actually green. Like most schools, the campus was large. It wasn't too difficult to navigate and it felt separate from the hectic LA culture surrounding it.

The final leg of the day led us to Mulholland Drive. Famous for its twist and turns and beautiful overlooks along the way. The drive was fun and we were able to see downtown and even Universal Studios. LA doesn't have a very appealing skyline, but the look is still very unique.

The evening ended with some good food and frozen yogurt. I was pretty exhausted by the end of the day. On a side note, I saw Hellboy II yesterday and it was great. Funny, visually stunning and the action was superb. Go see it!

Day 12: Beaches

2008-07-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

Today was my beach day. On the way to the beaches, I decided to have lunch at a fast food joint. But not just any fast food joint. The oldest, operating McDonald's in the world is located in Downey, CA, just west of Chino Hills. The food tastes like all other McDonald's, but the building is classic, complete with the old Speedee mascot.

Further west of Downey is the coast. I decided to spend my time at Venice Beach, an eccentric and large beach full of vendors and street entertainment. People were surfing, helicopters flew by every 10 minutes and lifeguards did their jobs. This is probably one of the most active beaches around. It's also famous for its outdoor gym, right on the beach. Go Muscle Beach!

Just a few miles north of Venice Beach is Santa Monica. The beach here is much more relaxing, although still busy. This beach makes me want to bring a bicycle wherever I go. The pier is constantly full of visitors. There is a roller coaster and ferris wheel. This beach is also great for outdoor exercise.

Day 11: Frank and Son

2008-07-09T22:32:00.000-07:00

Frank and Son is a local warehouse filled with tons of booths that sell collectibles. If you like pins, trading cards, figures, Japanese merchandise, games or anything out of the ordinary, someone here sells it. I didn't see much I wanted to buy, but window shopping here is fun in itself. On my way out, I picked up a few collectible trading vinyls. I have a soft spot for this kind of stuff.

The joys of staying here in Chino Hills is being able to spend time with family. The daily food picture of the day is some home cooking, the classic beef noodle soup.

I would also recommend seeing Wanted. It's a fun movie full of violence and ridiculous action.

Day 10: New toy

2008-07-09T00:00:00.003-07:00

Today was spent resting and spending time with family. The area feels like home since I come here so often. I hardly need a nav system here. I noticed there were some new places. There is now a 99 Ranch Market nearby and a new outdoor shopping center. They even had Momotree, which is similar to KidRobot.

The latest food craze is yogurt and there is a PinkBerry in the new shopping center. Also today, I drove around and happened to pick up a new toy. I've been wanting to get this for a while and it seemed like a good idea. At least we can have some fun at in LA.

So all you people out there who have one, send me a friend invite. Lets dominate the gaming world. My name is Pdl2thmdl (l as in a lowercase 'L'). Don't worry, I won't stay indoors everyday here. There is much to see!

Day 6-9: Relaxing and on to LA

2008-07-07T16:35:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July! The past few days have been low key and relaxing. Most of the time was spent eating and playing board games with friends. I had the opportunity to see the fireworks celebration in downtown San Jose.

The following are some pictures of places I went to eat. I had a very wide variety of foods during my stay in SJ. The first image was from a schezuan style lunch. The second was spicy miso ramen. The final image is from Yogurtland, which is pretty popular now a days.

We revisited Stanford, went to Los Gatos and some small local areas. The picture below was taken at Stanford of my host, Aric (sitting) and friend, Paul (chiseled statue).

I'm currently residing in LA now and will remain here for a few weeks. The weather is much hotter here and the sights are further to reach, but I'll update as often as I can!

Day 5: Mystery, Monterey and Carmel

2008-07-04T01:50:00.000-07:00

There was a lot of driving involved today, but it was worth it. I wanted to hit three major areas: Santa Cruz, Monterey and Carmel. I started off at the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot, which is supposedly known for mysterious phenomenon. However, it basically consisted of a lot of tricks involving slopes and distances. This, in a way, took away from the mystery. Whether or not there really was something unnatural, I'm not quite convinced. It was a fun experience though, I would recommend going with a bunch of friends.

I didn't have much time to see Santa Cruz, so I missed the beaches and boardwalk. Instead, I went straight to Monterey Bay. The city was small but packed with stores and beautiful sights. It also contained an amazing aquarium.

The aquarium had a very beautiful jellyfish exhibit. It was amazing seeing these creatures up close. If there is anything that reminds me of aliens, it would be what lives deep in the ocean. I also saw the tuna that is used for sashimi and they are huge! Sea creatures are incredible.

Many have been concerned about the fires on HWY 1 and several areas are closed. I decided to visit Carmel now since I won't be able to travel along the entire length of HWY 1 between SJ and LA. Carmel is a very small town and has a fantastic view. I walked the entire length of the beach. The sand was incredibly fine and the weather was warm. It was a perfect day...

Day 4: Google and Stanford

2008-07-02T23:23:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege of being a visitor of the Google headquarters in Silicone Valley. My host, Aric, had a friend who works there. I was utterly astounded. Google is quite possibly the greatest place to work...ever. There are 18 cafeterias, all with very good food. And the food is free. And you can eat as much as you want. Whenever you want. It's that amazing. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. I was there at 12 pm and there were people working out at the campus gym (for free), eating (for free) or playing volleyball or pool (for free). Need a drink? Just pick one out from anywhere.

In other words, Google tailors to their employees. They give you everything you need to help make you productive, which includes feeding you healthy food and allowing you to rest and take breaks at your discretion. Of course in return, they trust you to perform at your best. The employees all looked very young, mostly in their 20s or 30s. Imagine the freedom of a college campus, except you get paid well, get free meals everyday and free gym and activities memberships. Also, the sales department has beautiful women who dress well. Just thought I'd throw that out there. Thanks Garrett for hosting the tour!

Nearby Google was the great Stanford University. I spent a great amount of time exploring the campus. It had many small fountains, large open Quads and a beautiful chapel. The campus was stunning. I really enjoyed the look of the buildings.

During the evening I went to a place called SkyHigh with some friends, which basically consists of a bunch of trampolines. We can jump, do tricks or play dodgeball. I don't think I worked so hard in my entire life. Being exhausted led us to a delicious Korean restaurant. Tomorrow is another day. Until then.

Day 3: SF and Berkeley

2008-07-01T23:48:00.001-07:00

Today was my first big day out to San Francisco. I started off at the southern part to hit up a burger place called Joe's Cable Car Restaurant. I saw it on TV and they recommended it. They grind their meat every day and make fresh burgers. It was very very good, although super expensive. It was $15 for a 6 oz patty, the most I paid for a burger.

The interior of the place was awesome and had a great atmosphere. I drove deeper into SF and parked near the Westfield mall. First of all, SF downtown is amazing! It reminded me of a mini-Manhattan. Lots of people, lots of cars and very busy. The shopping is expensive and extravagant. I spent a good 45 min buying stuff from H&M (finally!). The Westfield mall was spectacular. It was 7 or 8 stories tall and had the best mall cafeteria I've ever seen. They even have bars that serve alcohol there. Very fancy. The image below is of Union Square, which was in the area.

The Macy's on that block was 2 or 3 buildings. A separate building was dedicated for Men's stuff. Finally we get some respect! I'm starting to like SF more and more. As a quick side trip, I went to Japantown, which is a small section in downtown. I didn't spend much time here, but every store is Japanese, including anime and food. I visited a unique antiques store which was filled with expensive Japanese tea pots, furniture and other items.

The last portion of the night took place in Berkeley to visit UC Berkeley. What an amazing campus they have. It feels very different compared to UW. The buildings are large and resembled modernized roman architecture. It felt like a city in a sense that their was a lot of space between buildings. Very comfortable and beautiful. I didn't see it all, but I must say our fountain is way cooler than theirs =P

I went down the block to eat the famous Zachery's Chicago Style Pizza. It was extremely busy but I landed a spot at the 'bar'. From there I could see the massive amount of people (very tiny restaurant) preparing deep dish pizzas. While waiting for the pizza to cook (about 30 min), I met a nice gentlemen sitting next to me and we shared several stories with one another. Very fun experience indeed. By the way, I spent just under $50 for lunch and dinner combined for just myself! Gotta spoil myself every once and a while...

Day 2: San Jose

2008-06-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

I slept well considering I was away from my own bed. Waking up to cute animals always brings cheer into my morning.

Today was a relaxing day spent in San Jose. I didn't want to drive far, so I went to the Valley Fair, which is a very large mall which had Louis Vuitton and Juicy Couture in addition to many stores we've seen before. Across the street was Santana Row, a high class, outdoor shopping area. You know things are expensive here when someone parks there Ferrari 360 Modena outside a hotel. Not to mention the cars that dealers put on sidewalks here are not Honda's or Chryslers. Instead, they're 200k+ Bentley and 145k+ Aston Martins. And I haven't even hit southern Cali yet!

Coincidently, right across the street is the well known Winchester Mansion. I've always wanted to see it and I finally got the chance. I learned that the designer and owner, Miss Winchester, is a crazier person than I thought. The tour guide did a great job informing of us the history of the house.

Just remember to go to school, be happy and don't let the ghosts or lost souls get to you. If you had as much money as she did, I hope you'd spend it more wisely. The most interesting part of the tour was wondering why she made these decisions.

California Day 1: The drive down

2008-06-29T22:12:00.001-07:00

Today was the first day of my month long California road trip. I'm officially on my way to being an honorary Californian! Unfortunately, Day 1 consisted primarily of one thing: driving. I made it all the way to San Jose unscathed, despite dodging bullets from Tacoma and Olympia. However, there was something I couldn't evade: the Washington Clark County Police Department. Despite all the warnings I received about speeding tickets, I was nailed with one just a few miles before hitting the Oregon border. I should have got a clue from seeing numerous people being pulled over earlier, but it seems that it was that time of month and everyone was getting one. My citation? 5 MPH over. I was going a little over that, but needless to say, this put a damper on my trip. I decided to take out my frustration (which really only lasted 30 seconds) by running my car into as many bugs as I could.

Seriously though, it was disappointing to receive the citation, but there's a first for everything. The drive was long but went by fast. There were a few fun, curvy mountain roads through Mt. Shasta, but the majority of the drive was straight with not much to see. The lone vista point, shown below, had a view of...nothing.

My car and I are safe and happy. Hope all is well back home!

Interesting Facts:

Red Bulls drank: 1
Water: 3+
Gas mileage: 34.03 mpg and 35.14 mpg
Gas prices: 4.39 (Eugene, OR), 4.68 (Redding, CA) for Premium
# of cops spotted: Washington: 15+ (all but 1 pulled over someone), Oregon: 1, California: 1
# of rest stops used: 2
Highest temperature: 98 degrees, northern California
# of bugs decimated: enough
Amount spent today: $85 (gas and food) + $90 (speeding ticket...)

Spam

2008-01-24T22:35:00.001-08:00

I got spam in my guest comments on my website today! I find it hilarious that they managed to find my site to put that on there. Don't people have better things to do? I hope there isn't a bot that targets this type of thing, I'm gonna get tired of deleting the spam.

In Memory of Heath Ledger

2008-01-23T00:07:00.000-08:00

I did not know him and I have only seen a few of his movies, if any in whole at that. I remember Heath Ledger from 10 Things I Hate About You, A Knights Tale and Brokeback Mountain. I've always liked him for choosing roles that were playful and fun. There was something genuine about him. When I heard about his performance in Brokeback Mountain, I was incredibly happy to hear that he has evolved into an amazing actor. When I heard Heath was cast as The Joker, I was ecstatic. After seeing images and clips of his performance, The Dark Knight became my number one must see film and still is. Now I'm not sure if I can sit through the movie without crying, especially in the end where I'm sure they will have a quick scene in remembrance of his life. I believe he was a rising star, an actor ready for the challenges that many great actors have accepted before him. Unfortunately, his path has ended, much like the young talented actors such as River Phoenix and Brandon Lee. It is important though, to remember that the value of life isn't gaged on how long we live, but how we chose to live it, what we accomplish and who we affect. Heath Ledger chose well, but his time has come in a way no one expected.

Remember to live each moment, whether it be eating breakfast, sharing stories with family or even fighting rush hour traffic. Each and every moment makes up who we are, good or bad, and that is what you will be remembered for. I know someone whose life had ended too soon. So soon that I didn't have enough time to say good-bye. The journey they are on now is beyond our comprehension. They can no longer make the choices we make each day. But we still have the ability to make a choice. That is perhaps the biggest blessing we all have. Don't let this unfortunate event be just a reminder. Reminders will simply fade away. Make a change and make a choice. The world is deeply connected and we are all a part of it. Live life well and never stop dreaming because it's not too late as long as you can still choose.

"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live."

My deepest regards to his family and friends and his daughter, Matilda.

Live free

2008-01-18T15:19:00.000-08:00

The happiest people are those who are too busy to notice whether they are or not. -William Feather

Slowing down

2008-01-14T20:00:00.001-08:00

It was dark out on the way home today. The usual heavy traffic was magnified by the unexpected snow that began to fall. At that moment, everything just looked surreal. Water drops were desperately clinging to the windows and the world outside was blurred from the condensation within the bus. Every glowing sign shown brighter than ever and exploded in color, almost like something out of a cartoon. The world just slowed down suddenly. People are so easily swept up by the rush of modern society that we forget to sit down and enjoy the little things around us. Each breath, every sound and the dancing of lights and snow all contribute to the moment at hand. And there is nothing more than I can ask for.

Thoughts

2007-12-12T16:42:00.000-08:00

What is it that defines ones life? Is it ones achievements? Or the journey they take to get there? The age old question of what the heck is life for, considering the majority of people just want to bother others and make other peoples lives miserable. We all want something for ourselves, we just don't know what it is. We're constantly bombarded with whats right, whats cool and what we should like. All this distracts and confuses us from what we actually want. Most people live there lives not knowing what makes them happy, just one burst of emotion at a time with the incessant ups and downs. We call this our life and we're ok with that. But one day, something happens that opens your eyes. A sudden sense of awareness of yourself and the others around you takes over. The realization of true happiness and joy. An overwhelming feeling so unexplainable that only those who experienced it can understand. Many are fortunate to experience it, but only a few can hold on to it. The rest of us brush it off and continue on with our routine lives. What if you can have that moment forever? Through thick and thin that underlying feeling is always there? I want to believe it exists. In fact I know it does. It just starts with a little bit of awareness and a little bit of searching. When it comes down to it, how else would you want to live your life?

Contrail Shadow

2007-12-12T01:11:00.000-08:00

This will be the first post on this blog. I transfered this information from my old News page. One day in August 07, I saw something interesting in the sky. I arrived at the Park and ride and was sitting on the bus when I noticed an usual dark streak or shadow in the sky. At first I thought it was a reflection on the window, but I realized it was across the sky itself. It was relatively thick and stretched from horizon to horizon, passing right by the sun. The band was very dark near the sun. If you've ever played Halo and looked up at the sky, you will see a band across the sky. It looked just like a huge shadow. I did some research when I got home and realized I witnessed a 'contrail shadow'. Here is an image I found on the internet which was very similar to what I saw.

If you ever have time, look it up. It's an interesting phenomenon and awesome to see in person if you can catch it.